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SILO AND SILAGE 



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BKK keeper's guide, INJURIOUS INSECTS, AND MAPLE 
SUGAR AND THE SUGAR BUSH. 



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LANSING: 

DARIUS D. THORP, PRINTER AN13 BINUSR. 

1889. 



Entered ttccordiug tc» Act of Conun 8p, in the year 1889, by Albert J. Cook, in 
Ihe office of llie Librarian of Cony:ress, at Washington, D. O. 



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PEEFACE. 

I write this primer: firsts because I have been asked to do 
so; secondly, because, from my experience, I deem the silo 
a tremendous advantage to any farmer, and I wish to influ- 
ence the farmers to do that which will aid them, in the strug- 
gle for success, more than any other one thing. My silo has 
been a surprising success, and in this little brochure I shall 
tell in a plain, simple way how I grow the corn, build my 
silo, fill and cover it, and feed the silage. I shall not pre- 
tend that this is surely the best method in every respect, but 
I shall urge that it will all pay, and prove a success ; for I 
have tried it at an immense profit. There ought to be one 
thousand silos built in Michigan and ten thousand in the 
United States during the next year. I hope and trust that 
this little effort of mine may aid in bringing this about. 

Agricultural College, Mich., Feb. 18, 1889. 



VAT.UE OF THE SIT.O. 



THE STLO IN GENERAL. 



A silo is simply an air-tight, water-tight box, in which 
green, succulent herbage may be placed and preserved as we 
preserve green fruit. It must not only preserve the contents 
from the air, but also protect against frost. 

Silage — ensilage is a less acceptable term for the same sub- 
stance — is the material that has been preserved in the silo. 

IMPORTANCE OF THE SILO. 

The great danger of American agriculture is the loss of 
fertility. Too much cropping, too little manure. Thus our 
soils become barren, our crops meager, and in the intense 
"struggle for existence " we go to the wall. What we most 
need — what we must have — is more fertilizers. The cheap- 
est and by far the best fertilizer for the great majority of our 
farmers is barn-yard manure. He who secures the most of 
this will win in the race. To secure this barn-yard manure we 
must keep stock — cattle, sheep, hogs and horses — and the 
more the better. From my experience, I am free to say that 
with silage properly secured we can increase our stock one- 
half. Many say the stock can be doubled. If the silage can 
be made a safe and healthy ration the year through, as I 
think more than probable, thus superseding the wasteful 
system of pasturing, then surely the last estimate made 
above is entirely within limits. We thus score one — a tre^ 
raendous one — for silage. Double the stock, double the 
manure; double the fertility; double the production. 



EXCELLENCE OF SILAGE. 



Again, silage is a succulent food, and so, like the green 
pasture of June, is appetizing, digestible, and assimilable, 
just the food that suits the needs of the animal. This is why 
the agricultural chemists erred, at first, so surprisingly regard- 
ing this food. They could find no added elements, and so 
insisted that it could have no virtue beyond that of the dried 
plants. They did not stop to think that a dried, over-cooked 
steak of beef or mutton, though containing the same food ele- 
ments of one juicy, tender, ^'done to a turn," was far less 
digestible. Silage is much more digestible than dried food, 
and thus the beef animal fed on it looks more sleek, and lays 
on fat faster ; the milch cow gives more and better milk ; all 
animals, cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs thrive upon it; and 
are more thrifty and healthy, because it ministers to their 
every need. Such men as F. D. Curtis, E. A. Powell, and J. 
S. Woodward, of New Yurk; J. Gould, of Ohio; and H. 
Smith, of Wisconsin, dairymen of the highest intelligence, 
who know their business from A to Z, all unite in the asser- 
tion that it adds decidedly to both the quantity and quality 
of the milk. I recently saw in Secretary J. S. Woodward's 
barns, of Lockport, New York, a large herd of cattle, which 
had been carefully divided in the fall into two lots as uniform 
in condition as it was possible to make them. Each lot has 
been crowded to the utmost by free use of mixed grains. But 
one lot has had silage, and the other the best of clover hay, 
otherwise the treatment has been the same. This was a won- 
derful revelation. The cattle fed silage, in condition, both 
as to sleekness and fat were surprisingly superior to the 
others. I said if all were turned into a yard I believed I 
could select all of the silage-fed animals with hardly a mis- 



THE CROP FOR SILAGE. *J 

take. The other gentlemen present, Colonel F. D. Curtis, 
Hon. Ssth Fenner and Prof. E. F. Ladd, were as sanguiae of 
the same ability as was I. Here, then, is our second score for 
silage. It serves the needs of the animal, and is far more 
digestible than is dry food, and so pushes growth, lays on 
fat, fosters health, and increases milk and butter as no dry 
food can do. 

Again, if the silage is properly secured and preserved, as it 
easily may be, the cattle, horses, etc., prefer it to other feed. 
This preference is a pretty certain indication of suitability 
and excellence. After one of my cows had had silage for 
weeks and no hay, I tried giving her, at the usual feed time, 
some very nice, bright, green hay and silage side by side. She 
ignored the hay, and commenced upon the silage as if raven- 
ous with hunger. The hay was tl:ien replaced with some 
ground oats and corn mixed ; to our surprise the grain was 
left undisturbed till the silage was ail gone. Another score 
for silage: The cattle like it; and the cattle know what is 
good for them. 

THE BEST CROP FOR SILAGE. 

Beyond question corn is the most profitable crop for silage. 
It is a very sure crop. It grows very rapidly. And we get 
a large yield per acre. From twelve to thirty tons are grown 
on an acre of land. As three tons of silage are worth one 
ton of the best hay, this is equal to from four to ten tons of 
hay per acre. Again this is the cheapest way to harvest corn, 
and puts it in a small barn space. Clover, millet and Hun- 
garian grass can be more easily and cheaply harvested in the 



8 WHAT KIND OF CORN. • 

usual way. From my experience I have reason to think corn 
(of course I mean corn stalks and all) as silage a pretty good 
food ration alone. If it is desired to add more albuminoids, 
bran and oil meal are easily obtainable. It is quite likely that 
it may pay to make silage of clover, and mix this with the corn 
silage in feeding. I have had no experience with this. We 
know that variety in any food ration is relished, and so we 
may believe is wise and desirable. My success with corn 
silage has been so marked and satisfactory that I believe it to 
be of first importance and highest value. 

PREPARING THE CROP. 

The kind of corn for silage is that which will mature the 
most corn, after which it is desirable to secure the most we 
can of stalks. The B. and W. or large Southern corn is not 
the corn for Michigan, as it does not mature. And we want 
the great yield of corn. Stalks are good but corn is better. 
As I look upon my silage I wish to see it thick with ears, or 
slices of ears f s they were left by the cutter. I know that our 
largest, most prolific flint corn makes superb silage. If there 
is a variety of dent corn that produces as much grain, and 
more stalks, then it is better. If sweet corn furnishes the 
most grain and stalks, then it is best. This is to be said in 
favor of our flint and dent corn. We can save our own seed, 
and so can be certain that it will germinate and grow vigor- 
ously from the start. 

I quote from the Bulletin (No. 1) of the New Hampshire 
Experimental Station : " Tons per acre, regardless oi feeding 
value per ton, were formerly regarded as the best indication. 
This is wrong, and to-day the most experienced users are 



HOW TO PLANT. O 

finding that immature watery varieties, though standing high 
in the scale of tons per acre, are really lower in the true 
scale, oi feeding value in the manger." 

HOW SHALL WE PLANT? 

A short, easy rule is this: Plant, cultivate, and care for 
just as you would to secure the most field corn, just as you 
did before silos and silage were heard of. Of course, methods 
will vary some with locality, soil, and the person who grows 
the crop. I prefer to plant on plowed sod, which has been 
generously covered early the preceding winter with fresh barn- 
yard manure. As soon as our oats yre in — this work, oat 
seeding, is hastened by using that par-excellent implement 
the Clark cut-away harrow in lieu of a plow. After the sod 
is plowed the tut-away harrow is used to mellow it. I desire 
a deep, mellow seed bed. We aim to have our ground in 
readiness by May 20. It does not pay to hasten planting 
too much. When planted, the corn should commence at 
once to germinate, and should push up rapidly and vigorously, 
which is only possible with warmth and sunshine. 

It is also a wise precaution that should never be forgotten, 
to test our seed before planting time arrives. This is espe- 
cially important in case we purchase our seed. If we save our 
own seed, which is always wise, selecting the best, and hang- 
ing it in a zoarm, dry room, so that it will dry out early and 
thoroughly, then we may be pretty sure that every kernel 
will germinate; but even then testing makes ''assurance 
doubly sure." This testing is a very simple matter. We 
have only to put a certain number of kernels in a box of 



lO MANAGING THE CROP. • 

moist earth about as we would plant them, and keep the box 
in a warm room. If all or nearly all send up the sprout, then 
we know our seed is good, and need have no solicitude in 
planting it. 

I find I can grow the most corn with the least labor to 
plant in drills. I have no special corn drill — I doubt if the 
-average farmer can afford to purchase one — so I use my graiu 
drill. All but the two outside feeders are stopped up with 
wooden plugs. This makes the rows four and one-half feet 
apart. In this way we put on about ten or twelve quarts of 
com to the acre. Pretty tljick, do you say? Yes, but corn 
is cheap; and if planted so thick the cut worms can take 
some and yet do little harm, and we can drag up some and 
yet have enough for a first-class crop of corn. Iq thus drill- 
ing, we space every other row with the eye. With care this 
can be done so as to please the most fastidious. We must 
also watch the hose, lest they clog with some sod or clod, and 
we drop no corn. In this way it is possible to plant ten acres 
in a half day, I like this method. It requires no machin- 
ery not already on the farm, it is a cheap and easy way to 
plant, and best of all, it has given magnificent crops of corn. 
Nearly or quite as soon as the corn is all planted, especially 
if we have rains to compact the soil, I put a tine tooth har- 
row to work. This may be very large, so as to harrow a 
wide space in once crossing the field. The teeth are small 
and slant back. By use of this the soil is mellowed, and the 
^ver present weeds just peering through the ground are 
uprooted and destroyed. Ttiis harrowing is continued till 
the corn is three or four inches above the ground, and the 



WHERE TO BUILD. 



stalks so thinned that a maximum yield of corn is insured. 
As a result the weeds are largely vanquished, the corn is 
pushed to a most vigorous growth, so that it only remains to 
cultivate the crop with a good spring tooth cultivator till it 
becomes too large to work. Thus all hand labor is avoided, 
weeds are very scarce, even in the rows, and a mammoth 
crop almost always rejoices the heart of the one who planted 
and tilled. We must be sure to so thin our corn as to secure 
a maximum yield of grain. This will also add to the value 
of the stalks. 

LOCATION OF THE SILO. 

As already intimated, when space and convenience permit, 
there is no better place for the silo than in the barn. This 
makes it convenient to feed and saves expense, as no roof is 
required. It has been estimated (see Bulletin No. 1, N. H. 
Ex. Station, p. 1) that such a silo can be built for $1.00 per 
ton of capacity. Thus a silo holding seventy tons would 
cost $70.00. Mine cost me nearly double this amount, yet 
in the end mine may be the cheapest. It should be remem- 
bered that the silo will surely increase the stock of the farm, 
as this might influence us in locating the silo. If the barn 
is a basement barn, so much the better. The silo may extend 
from the floor of the basement to the plates of the barn. 
This enables us to cut our filling on the floor above the base- 
ment, and saves elevating to so great a height. If we build 
outside, we must locate with reference to ease and conven- 
ience of feeding all our stock, horses, cattle and sheep ; as 
we shall wish to feed silage to all. It should be remembered 
that feeding is semi-daily work, and no care should be 



12 SIZE OF THE SILO. • 

neglected in our planning to bring the door or doors of our 
silos as near as possible to the mangers that are to be filled 
with the silage. If a few hours' thought, study and plan- 
ning save years of regret, it will be very well employed, 

BUILDING A SILO. 

We now have the corn rapidly n earing maturity, and we 
must hasten to prepare the silo, that it may be in readiness 
by the time the corn is in condition to cut up ; the usual time 
for cutting field corn that is to be husked. 

As already stated, the silo is an air-tight, nearly frost-proof 
room. To make it air-tight and warm it must be double 
walled. Unless it is made right in the barn, which is usually 
the best and cheapest plan, it must have a good roof, just 
under which arrangements should be made for ventilation. 

SIZE OF THE SILO. 

This must vary greatly, depending upon size of farm and 
position of silo. I can only give some general hints. The 
usual mistake is to make the silo too small, so that with the 
succeeding year a second silo must be built. This of course 
adds to the expense. My silo is twenty feet high, and I 
should like to have added five feet, but could not, as I built it 
in my barn, and so the height whs limited. As the carriers 
to our present feed cutters carry the cut stalks to almost any 
height, I would prefer the silo to be twenty or twenty-five 
feet high when this is practicable. 

To aid in determining the size of the silo, let me say that 
estimating forty lbs. to the cubic foot — I have known it to 
weigh fifty-six lbs. — which is near enough for our purpose, a 



SIZE OF THE SILO. I3 

silo ten feet square and twenty feet high will hold forty tons 
of silage, and one fifteen feet square and twenty feet high will 
hold ninety tons. If we raise fifteen tons to the acre — many 
report twenty and twenty-five — which we may surely hope and 
expect to do, it will take not quite three acres to fill the first 
silo; and about six to fill the second. Again, if we count 
sixty lbs. a ration for a cow or horse, which, with the addition 
of some bran, oat meal, or oil meal will keep a cow or horse 
in thriving condition, then the first silo would feed eight cat- 
tle for nearly six months, and the second would feed seven- 
teen for the same time. These figures look large; but ex- 
perience proves them reliable. Prof. E. M. JShelton says 
usually by the middle of January he takes an inventory of 
his stock and feed, and trembles as he contemplates the 
shortage in spring. Now, as he sees what his silo is doing, 
and can do, he thinks he will not need to save any feed in 
1889, as he has enough to last till May, 1890. I quote from 
memory. Yet Prof. S. feeds sixty cattle and has, I believe, only 
ten or twelve acres of corn and sorghum in his silo. Mr. 
Jaques, of New York, objects to the silo on this ground : 
Usually he has had to buy 100 tons of hay to feed his great 
flock of sheep and herd of cattle. This winter with his silo 
he will have to buy none, and so will lose all that manure. 
With the above figures, each person, after studying his farm, 
his barn, and circumstances can decide upon the size of his 
silo. Let me caution, however, not to build too small. 
With a good silo we can sell most of our hay at a large profit, 
and yet keep our farms in fine condition by buying manure 
and taking a large load of this home each time a load of hay 



H 



THE FOUNDATION WALLS. 



is taken to market. We shall keep our farms increasing in 
fertility if we pursue such a course, and at the same time add 
vastly to our income. 

THE FOUKDATION". 

I would have the bottom of the silo eighteen inches below 
ground, that the stone wall on which the silo rests should 
have the earth to sustain it on the outside. I would dig a 
trench for the stone wall two feet below the bottom of the 
silo. This is to be filled for a foot with small stones, and, if 
necessary, thoroughly drained. The bottom of the silo must le 
dry. The remainder of the foundation wall should be laid 
in cement. This wall should be eighteen inches thick below 
the bottom of the silo. From the bottom of the silo to the 
top of the ground it is only eight inches thick. That is, 
only the outside of the wall is carried to the top. Thus the 
inside ten inches of the wall only extend upward to the bot- 
tom of the silo — eighteen inches below the surrounding earth. 
On this rest sills made of three two by ten inch plank, 
which lap at the corners and are firmly spiked, thus tying 
the sides firmly together. It will be seen that, as these plank 
lap at the corners, they lie not on each other but two inches 
apart. In large silos, where the sills are long, several pieces 
of plank must be placed between these long plank, so that the 
upper ones shall not sag from the weight of the building. 
The studding or uprights, which should be made of two inch 
plank ten inches wide, and as long as the silo is high — in my 
silo they are twenty feet — rest on the sill to which they are 
toe-nailed by use of spikes. These are sixteen inches apart. 
We see that the lower end of these studs push against an 



THE FOUNDATION WALLS. 1 5 

eight inch wall, and this against solid earth. Thus we secure 
against any possible pushing out of the walls of the silo,, 
which is a very important matter. It will be seen that the 
silo is mostly above ground. It would be just as well for the 
silage to dig deeper into the earth, providing the pit was 
thoroughly drained, so as to protect against water ; but it is 
harder to feed where the silage has to be lifted up and where 
work is to be done frequently — once or twice daily — it pays 
to make it as easy as possible. We should force gravity to 
aid not to hinder us in our work. In case we build outside 
a basement barn, it is often wise to dig down and bring the 
floor of the silo on a level with the floor of the basement of 
the barn. 

THE WALLS, 

The studding, as just stated, should be two inches thick 
and ten inches wide. The ends of these planks of course 
extend crosswise of the wall. They should be from sixteen 
to twenty inches spart. Mme are sixteen inches. I think 
twenty would answer, though I know of several silos where 
the walls have been thrnst out by the pressure of the silage. 
It is wise to make the walls secure against any possible lateral 
thrust that may be brought against them. The walls of my 
silo are firmly held by beams, eight feet from the bottom, 
and again at the top. When there is no such support, it may 
be necessary in case the silo is very large and twenty or 
twenty-five feet high to tie the walls with iron rods or put 
our studs one foot apart. We must in building insure 
against any displacement, as the heavy weight is placed in 
the silo. I emphasize this point, as many have built with too 



l6 THE FOUNDATION WALLS. 

little care in this direction, and their silos have not "gone 
back" but out on them. Some of our builders or physicists 
should tell us just how we should build our silos to be sure 
that they are sufficiently strong and yet save all unnecessary 
expense. As yet I know of no such data. In building we 
better err on the side of strength. We now tack onto the out- 
side of this studding good, thick, firm, building paper, 
lapping it well at the edges. Oatside of this we seal tight 
either with matched or shiplap lumber. The object- is to 
secure an air tight sealing. If out doors, or cheaper, Hiram 
Smith's advice may be followed: first ceil with cheap lum- 
ber, then put on the building paper and shingle outside with 
cheap shingles, with a six inch exposure. My outer wall is 
made of paper and matched siding. We next seal on the 
inside with common lumber, and lath inside of that; or use, 
as I did, grooved siding, now so much used instexd of lath 
to plaster on, and then plaster the whole inside with water 
lime, or cement, just as we plaster a cistern. This not only 
makes our silo water tight, but we also form an air-tight or 
dead-air space of one foot all around the silo. This makes 
it practically frost proof. In purchasing the cement for our 
plaster we must be sure it is of first quality. I have known 
such plastered walls to crumble because of poor cement. 

It is true that such plastered walls cost more than walls 
wholly of wood. But they last, and like the laws of the 
Medes and Persians change not. Were we sure that by use 
of oil, pitch, or hot coal tar and resin, we could so coat our 
wooden walls as to certainly make them water proof, then, 
owing to greater cheapness, wood would be preferable ; but 



THE FOUNDATION WAJ.LS. 1 7 

after seeing such walls not more than one or two years old, 
that were badly jearped and swollen, and that I could pick to 
pieces with my finger nails, they were so water soaked, I am 
suspicious of them and am glad I have not the very expensive, 
but very durable plastered walls. I believe in the end no one 
will regret the small extra expense of plasteriug the inside of 
the silo with the cement. It costs here nineteen cents per yard 
to plaster. If we do all the labor and only buy the cement 
and hire the mason it only costs ten cents per yard; or for a 
silo fifteen feet square and twenty feet high only thirteen 
dollars. Then we have a safe, sure and lasting structure. 

It will be observed that I say nothing of stone, brick, or 
concrete walls for the silo. They cost more than wooden 
walls and are not as good. It is found that silage does not 
keep as well next to such walls, and that the frost is almost 
sure to creep through them. I know of several who have 
silos with stone walls, that intend to seal inside with wood. 
I am sure that such silos will never give perfect satisfaction. 
The door to the silo should be on the side and in the position 
most convenient for feeding. It should be at least two and 
one-half feet wide, and if desired may be three. It should 
extend from the ground to within two feet of the top of the 
silo. This two feet serves to tie the walls of the silo together 
as do the plank below the doorj and insure against spreading. 
As the silo is filled the door is closed by use of six-inch 
boards and building paper, which are added as needed. The 
point to be secured is to make all air tight. I also use similar 
boards and paper outside, which are nailed firmly in place. 
This also secures against spreading. Thus I have the dead 
air space at the door as well as elsewhere. 



lO THE FOUNDATION WALLS. 

The object of this door extending to the top is for ease and 
convenience in feeding. We commence to feed from the top, 
raking or forking off each day as much silage as is needed. 
Of course we remove the six-inch door boards as we come to 
them, each in succession. In this way there is no mold or 
heating of the silage as we feed it out, but all is fresh con- 
tinually. If the door is at the bottom, we must cut the silage 
down, which adds to the labor, and the exposed surface heats 
-and, spoils, especially if the weather is warm. The bottom of 
the silo, if the earth is clay and perfectly dry — it must be 
dry — is all right with no preparation. Otherwise a cement 
floor should be laid. As before stated, if the silo is out doors, 
a good roof must be added. The space between the top of the 
silo and the roof should be ventilated, else the damp air will 
cause the wood work to decay prematurely. 

We thus have our silo complete except to close the dead air 
spaces at the top. Here we also use the paper and nail boards 
over this. In case the building is out doors, these boards 
may be two inch planks like the studs, which shall serve as 
plates. Of course the rafters will rest upon these. By 
spiking long plank to opposite rafters near the bottom, the 
building will be prevented from spreading. If desired iron 
rods may be used to tie with. Similar stringers may tie the 
end plates to the rafters. My silo is in my barn and the 
beams of the barn hold the sides, so that no spreading is pos- 
sible. In building our silos we must be cautious that all is 
so firmly stayed that no displacement will be possible. In 
large silos it is usually customary to separate the silo into two 
apartments by use of a partition. T should never put a par- 



PARTITION IN THE SILO. ig 

tition in a silo unless the silo were so large that I would not 
feed fast enough — taking silage from the whole top — to pre- 
vent some injury from mold. By keeping some straw above 
the silage it will not freeze. The straw is easily pushed one 
side as we rake off our silage. From my experience and 
observation I think I should make a pretty large silo before I 
should add the partition. It costs money, is in the way, and 
unless needed as suggested above, better be omitted 
ijltngfether. The partition is not needed for filling, as we had 
best use corn or second growth clover to form silage; and all 
these can be put in at once. Even if the silo is partly filled 
in July, and the work completed in September, there will be 
no difficulty, as will appear when we discuss filling. If a par- 
tition is decided upon it should be built as are the walls of 
the silo, except that the dead air space need not be more 
than six inches wide, and both sides are covered by the 
grooved sheeting and plaster. Of course this partition must 
be strong enough to sustain the silage on one side after the 
other side is emptied. It must also be thick enough to prevent 
freezing of the silage on one side, after that on the other side 
has been fed out. Of course, there must either be a door in the 
partition, or else one in each apartment of the silo, as will 
be most convenient for feeding. Even in the face of the 
opinion of such an authority as Mr. E. A. Powell, of Syra- 
cuse, New York, I advise all to study the matter well before 
the awkward partition is added to the silo. 

FILLIN'G THE SILO, 

Now that our silo is ready, and the ears of corn mostly 
glazed, we must hasten to fill the silo before a frost comes to 



FILLING THE SILO. 



lessen the value of the crop. If frosted corn, however, is 
put at once into the silo, the damage from the frost is much 
less than when we are to husk and feed the stalks dry — 
another score in favor of the silo. Two points can not be 
too much emphasized. Never, except that an untimely 
frost forces us to it, jill the silo until the corn is beginning 
to glaze, or mature enough to cut, were we to cut up and 
husk in the old way; a7id never put any crop i?ito the silo 
while at all wet with rain or deiu. If either of these rules 
are disregarded, the silage will be less nutritive, and more 
sour. I have observed both these rules in preparing my 
silage^ and it has ever been sweet to the taste and almost 
without the sour odor so common about the older silos. I 
have visited silos where the silage was sour, both from too 
eariy filling, and from filling while the stalks were wet. 
Just here is explained why the early silos and silage gained 
an unsavory reputation. The corn was put in, at a great 
loss, while not more than half mature, and the silage was 
sour and umvholesome. Dr. Peter Collier, while chemist of 
the Agricultural Department, showed that the increase in 
nutritious elements in corn was exceedingly rapid towards 
the period of maturity. Prof I. P. Roberts shows the same 
thing in Bulletin No. 4, of Cornell University. And we all 
know that nature rarely shows her power to work wonders in 
vegetable transformations more vividly than in the corn 
field. How wondrous the growth and increase from first to 
last! Yet just at the close, when roots, stalks, leaves and all 
are united in pushing growth and development to the 
utmost, often forming three great ears to a single stalk, and 



WHEX TO FILL THE SILO. 2 1 

that in just a few weeks, this wondrous metamorphosis from 
the crude to the organized, from the inorganic to the 
nutritious, reaches the climax. Surely it were unwisdom to 
cut short this beneficent work, the free gift of bounteous 
nature. Nature at the close dries off her product, and coats 
it with a shell-like cover, merely to protect and to preserve 
it, to fence out the disintegrating forces that are ever present 
to remove succulent material, both animal and vegetable, 
from the earth. Thus nature must change the juicy, digest- 
ible and nutritious, into the dry and less valuable products. 
It rests with us, armed with the silo, to step in and prevent 
this last unprofitable drying-off process of nature. 

Before we had the silo, nature, that always does her work 
well, did the best for us, now she overdoes the matter, and it 
only rests with us to step in just at the dawn of this indu- 
rating process. Then we get all the nutritious elements 
developed to the maximum, and prevent all the changes that 
make the crop less digestible, and so less valuable. I am no 
chemist, and so it is not for me to say why corn or clover put 
into the silo wet does not make first-class silage ; but the fact 
is patent. Dr. Manly Miles, than whom there is no more 
thorough student of scientific agriculture in the United 
States, was the first, I think, to claim and prove that heating 
to a high temperature to kill the germs of fermentation was 
required to secare first-class silage. It u easy to S3 3 liw 
wet material would retard this heating, and so fermentation 
would not be held in check. Whatever the scientific explaua^ 
tion, the fact is^ beyond dispute, and is practically very im- 
portant. If the cutting of the corn can be done with a reaper* 



22 DRAWING AND CUTTING. 

it would save much hard work and much valuable time. I 
have not been able to accomplish this part as yet. Others 
have; which shows that it is practical if one has the right 
kind of a machine. As yet, we have cut with a hand cutter 
and laid the stalks in bunches on the ground. For drawing, 
nothing equals the low platform wagons, which are so handy 
on the farm for many kinds of work. With these, one man 
on the wagon and two on the ground will load the corn very 
rapidly. With a common wagon and rack, the same method 
of loading works very well. Two men can cut and. hand up 
two acres, or thirty tons, in a day. Some, however, in this 
case change the wheels, putting the small wheels on the hind 
axle, and then incline a long plank from this or from the 
hind end of the rack to the ground. Then the stalks are 
carried up and laid on the wagon. I have found the other 
method the most satisfactory. Mr. Geo. F. Powell, of 
Ghent, New York, recommends a rack made as follows: 
The reach to the wagon is replaced by two long poles with 
front ends together, which are fastened to the front axle by 
means of the king bolt, as was the reach. The back ends of 
these poles are fastened firmly to the under side of the hind 
axle, one on each side, close to the hind wheels. A cross bar 
is fastened upon these poles just back of the front wheels ; 
and on this and other cross-bars, arranged at pleasure, a plat- 
form is made. This is broad and low and I should think it 
would work well, as Mr. Powell says it does. 

CUTTING THE CORN. 

I think that science and practice unite in urging the cut- 
ting by the use of a feed cutter of both corn and clover, 



SILAGE FROM UNCUT CORN. 2^ 

especially the former, before putting it into the silo. 1'he 
objection is, that the machinery for cutting costs more than 
does a good silo. This is true. My silo, fifteen feet square 
and twenty feet high, cost less than one hundred and thirty 
dollars; while my tread power costs, at retail, more than one 
hundred, and my No. 14 Smalley feed cutter, with an eighteen 
food carrier, also costs more than one hundred dollars But 
the same tread power enables me to cut all my dry cornstalks 
at a great saving, and to grind all my oats and corn at a 
slight expense, with one of the excellent Morton grinders, 
while the cutter is also used as just indicated. It is certainly 
true, that good silage has been secured by placing the mate- 
rial, even corn, into the silo whole. So this is practical. Yet 
many have failed, and by so doing have lost all their silage. 
The material in a silo must be so thoroughly trodden or 
pressed down as practically to exclude the air. This of 
course, if the filling is not cut fine, will be difficult and will 
demand great care. It is probable that the difference in 
placing and compacting explains, for the most part, the 
varied experiences that are reported as to the condition of 
silage from uncut corn. It is possible, too, that the corn in 
some cases was cut too green, and that it may have been put 
into the silo while wet. It only remains to be said, that if 
whole corn or clover is to be put into the silo, it must ie near 
maturity, should certainly be dry when put in, and that every 
pains must be taken to lay it straight, so that as it is pressed 
down the air may be wholly excluded. I have not tried the 
above method, nor do I wish to. For safety and convenience 
in feeding I prefer to run all the corn through a cutter. I 



34 TRKAD POWER AND FEED CUTTER. * 

believe that silos will soon be so common that engines and 
cutters will go from farm to farm, as threshers do now ; then 
.even the small farmers may cut the material for the silo, and 
yet not need to own the expensive machinery. 

THE POWER. 

I have never regretted that I secured a two-horse tread- 
power for cutting and grinding feed. This works well, is 
kept housed in a small space, is very easily and quickly 
moved from one spot to another, furnishes good exercise for 
horses and colts in winter; can be worked in cold, stormy, 
blustering weather, as well as at other times ; and best of all, 
these are now so governed that they are perfectly safe. The 
sweep horse-powers cannot be housed, cannot be worked in an 
ordinary barn, and so are useless on stormy days ; and with 
the same number of horses are only about half as effective 
as a good tread power. I have the two-horse Morton tread - 
power, which is portable, safe and durable, and gives most 
perfect satisfaction. I doubt not that powers made by other 
firms may be as good as the one I have. I do not see how 
they can work any better. In case of very large silos, 
holding hundreds of tons, I presume it might pay to secure 
an engine to cut the corn ; but for eight or ten acres of corn, 
and silos to hold a hundred tons of silage, I think the tread- 
power will prove entirely satisfactory. 

THE CUTTER. 

I have tried five different cutters, and those with knives 
on the cylinder and on the fly wheel, and I have found the 
Smalley No. 14 not only to be by far the best, but also to be 
.all that I could wish. It costs, with carrier, a little more than 



METHOD OF FILLTNti. 



25 



$100. This mill not only cuts very rapidly, but the elevator 
works to my entire satisfaction. It should be stated, however, 
that with my two-horse tread-power, I cannot cut the stalks 
finer than one inch and work as fast as I desire. I think, 
however, that this is fine enough. The silage keeps well, and 
the cattle and other stock eat it all up. I do not see what we 
would gain by cutting it any finer. Very likely other cutters 
are as good as the Smaliey, but I have not used any such. I 
am sure that no one can make any mistake in buying this 
machine. 

HOW THE WORK IS DQKE. 

We set our cutter so that the carrier drops as nearly over 
the center of the silo as possible, and so we can draw the 
material to be cut right beside the cutter. When all is ready, 
we rush the work until the silo is full, only stopping for 
night and rain. We have proved now for two years that the 
old rule — to cut and fill one day and rest the next, that the 
silage may heat and destroy the germs of fermentation, and 
thus fill only on alternate days — is not necessary. When we 
commence we push the work to the utmost till it is com- 
pleted, and our silage is admirable. I advise filling rapidly, as 
I know that it is safe and excellent in its results. There is no 
doubt but that filling leisurely, as suggested above, will give just 
as good results, as many have proved this to be true ; hence, 
if more convenient, the filling may go forward only on alter- 
nate days. I find it best when the help is ready to rush the 
work till the silo is fall. By covering with a foot of cut straw, 
we may leave the silo partly filled for weeks, then complete 
the filling. 



26 FILLINCJ THE SILO. • 

I have six men; two to cut and help load in the field, two 
men, each with a team, to help load, draw and hand to the 
man at the feed cutter, one man at the feed cutter and one in 
the silo to tread the material about the walls, and especially 
in the corners. In case the field is near the barn, the man 
in the silo may be omitted. The horses on the tread need ta 
rest, and the man who feeds and the drivers can tread the 
silage. 

Mr. E. A. Powell, of Syracuse, urges rounded corners, that 
this compacting may be better done. I find no trouble in 
this regard, only I wish my best man in the silo. No lazy 
shirk will do there. Thorough treading at the edges will 
alone insure perfect silage clear to the walls and corners. 
That 1 know will do it, for I have tried it. Each morning it 
is well to throw the silage away down from the edge for a few 
inches and fill in with that that is heated from the center. 
Of course, no treading is necessary except at the border. The 
weight of the green material will press that in the center 
sufficiently, so the man in the silo will only need to see that 
at the edge is firmly trodden. Of course, this same person 
adjusts the boards and paper at the door, as the silo is being 
filled. After the silo is filled to the top it should be allowed 
to settle a day or two and then filled to the top again, which 
should be twice repeated. At the last, a foot or two of cut 
straw should be put on top, and this weighted by a few boards 
to hold it down. We have thrown on these a load of seasoned 
wood. The old way of weighting with tons of stone, earth,, 
etc., is shown by ample experience, other than miue, to be 
utterly useless ; it is labor thrown away. 



SILAGE WITH BRAN OR COTTON MEAL. 2*J 

G. H. Mitcher, director New Hampshire experimental sta- 
tion, estimates the cost of putting corn into the silo at $1 per 
ton. It costs me less than one-half that amount. It has been 
estimated that the entire cost of raising crop and making it 
it into silage is from 12 to $2.50 per ton. I think this esti- 
mate is also quite too large. 

It will be seen by the above that the ears of corn, as well as 
the stalks, are cut and run into the silo. We often see it 
recommended to pick ofE the corn. I see no reason for this. 
The corn makes the silage very much more valuable. There 
is no other way that the corn can be harvested so easily and 
so cheaply. In the silo the corn is softened so that no grind- 
ing is required, for even cattle will digest thoroughly this 
softened corn in the silage. After my experience in feeding 
silage full of rings of corn as it came from the cutter, I am 
thoroughly pleased with this way of treating and feeding this 
most valuable grain for feeding that we raise. 

FEEDING SILAGE. 

The silo can be opened, and its contents fed out at once if 
desired; or it may remain closed, as will usually be the 
method practiced until cold weather sets in. It answers well 
as the main food ration for all kinds of stock at any season of 
the year. Indeed, as I and others have proved, it serves well, 
if we may judge by the appearance of the animals fed, as an 
exclusive ration ; yet chemical analysis shows that it is lack- 
ing in the nitrogenous or albuminoid elements, and is doubt- 
less improved by adding bran, oat, linseed, or cotton seed 
meal. For the benefit of those that are chemically inclined 
I give the following analyses: 



28 SILAGE THE WHOLE YEAR. • 

Ensilage Bulletin No. 14, Grenevci, N. Y. Sttition. Water, 
59.29; ash 1.72, albuminoids 3.62, crade fiber 8.11, nitrogen — 
free extract, 24.80, fat 2.56, We see that according to the 
nutritive ratio of the German tables we have here twice as 
much fat as is desired, and also a large excess of the carbo- 
hydrates. The same authority gives bran as follows: Water 
13.71, ash 5.53, albuminoids 14.56, crude fiber 10.83, nitro- 
gen — free extract — 52.56, fat 3.11. Here we have albuminoids 
in excess. So we see that chemistry will be suited if we com- 
bine these two kinds of feed, and from my limited trials I 
believe the cattle, horses, etc., will not give the lie to science 
in actual feeding. By use of a little more oil meal^30 per 
cent, albuminoids — or even the more nitrogenous cotton- 
seed meal — 40 per cent, albuminoids — we can arrive still 
nearer the nutritive ratio of the German tables. 

It seems more than probable that silage is going to make 
it easy and possible to do away with the great expense of 
pasturing. True, soiling may replace pasturing, but we can- 
not soil early in the season, and as already shown, a soiling 
crop^has not got the best from earth, air, and moisture when 
fed. Silage will be ready at the earliest date, and is the most 
economic of all known food for stock. It gets the most from 
the soil and elements, and is very digestible. I am persuaded 
that pasturing is a very expensive part of our common farm 
-economy. It is also wasteful of manure, as the droppings in 
the pastures are not in such form and distribution as to give 
the best returns. I hope we have in silage a valuable substi- 
tute for this wasteful system. I do not see how it can be 
•otherwise. I hope and expect to know soon, by actual experi- 



SILAGE FOR ALL STOCK. 29 

ence, that in summer feeding of ensilage we shall find our 
next great advance in practical agriculture. 

In feeding, as before suggested, we commence at the top 
and rake or fork off from the whole upper surface what we 
require to feed all our stock. This is quick and easy, as no 
cutting is required, and by this process the silage is all kept 
constantly fresh and there is no mold or mildew even in the 
hottest weather. In cold weather a little straw above the 
silage prevents freezing, and is quickly pushed aside as we 
rake or pitch off the silage. A bushel of the loose silage, 
which weighs about twenty-five or thirty pounds, is enough 
for a single feed for a full-size horse or cow, or for ten sheep. 
For young stock it takes less. They may be given what they 
will eat clean. For young growing stock bran, linseed meal 
or oatmeal may be added to the silage. If we are fattening 
our animals we may add liberally of cornmeal or cornmeal 
mixed with bran or oatmeal, if full digestion requires. I 
have found silage specially valuable to feed mares suckling 
fall colts, cows suckling calves, and for sheep. Mr. Wood- 
ward finds it superb for his ewes that are suckling lambs that 
are to be sold in winter and spring. The lambs also quickly 
learn that silage is good, and thus get a double benefit from 
it. In feeding lambs or cows and mares that are suckling 
young, we should not feed full rations at first ; indeed, it is 
safest with all animals to feed sparingly at the beginning for 
a few days. Mr. Woodward » with many others, finds that it in- 
creases the milk of the cows, and thus increases the butter 
yield. Good silage is no injury to milk, cream or butter. 
The old cry that silage spoils the milk and butter is proved 



30 



WHAT THE SILO MAY DO. 



false daily on thousands of American farms. The testimony 
of such eminent dairymen as Hiram Smith, of Wisconsin, 
John Gould, of Ohio, and Messrs. E. A. Powell and Colonel 
F. D. Curtis, of New York, upon this point is all conclusive 
and leaves no foothold even for doubt. 

It has been suggested by even men of high scientific attain- 
ments that silage is pre-eminently the food for cattle and 
not for other farm stock. This is certainly a mistake. If 
we raise fall colts, which I find very profitable, then silage is 
just what we need, and will enable us to produe colts as 
excellent as though dropped in the spring. This gives us our 
brood mares in first-class trim for the hard summer's work. 
I find silage just as good for young colts and other horses. Of 
course if horses are worked hard it might be well to give one 
feed a day of good hay, and add grain to feed the wasting tis- 
sues that are so rapidly consumed by hard muscular effort. I 
also find that my sheep never did so well as since I have given 
them silage. Not only do they thrive in winter but they drop 
their lambs without trouble, and the lambs are more strong, 
vigorous and hearty. Mr. Woodward, of New York, speaks 
emphatically to this same effect, and his experience with hun- 
dreds of sheep and scores of winter lambs is most valuable and 
conclusive. I have had no experience with hogs, but Col. F. 
D. Curtis, the great American authority on the swine indus- 
try, states that silage is also valuable to add to the winter 
rations of our swine. 

CONCLUSION. 

This is a time of severe and unceasing competition in all 
industries. The *' struggle for existence" is fierce in all de- 



HOPE FROM THE SILO. $1 

partments of industry. Conibinatious and excessive division 
of labor can not come to the relief of the farmer as they do 
to those of other pursuits, yet here, as elsewhere, the ''fittest 
alone survive." It, therefore, behooves the farmer to cast 
about and lay hold of any and every lever that shall aid him 
in becoming master of the situation. In this quest for im- 
proved methods, no single thing, I am sure, will stand so 
prominent as a grand practical aid, as does the silo. As sug- 
gested, it will multiply the herds and the products secured 
from them ; it will increase the manure, add to the fertihty 
of the soil and consequent productiveness, making '' two 
blades of grass to grow where but one grew before." All of 
this will help to make prosperity smile upon the farmer's 
home and life, and so lessen the care and labor of the great 
army of husbandmen that is the hope and stay of our 
country. If the silo, in addition, will keep our stock in sum- 
mer in good, thriving condition, as we have every reason to 
expect, and thus banish those two most expensive necessities 
of the farm under the old regime, pasturing and the fence, 
then it will earn a still greater meed of praise. We now know 
and recognize the gift of the silo to be a benefaction. If our 
just and reasonable hopes for its future are realized it will be 
almost revolutionary in its grand accomplishments. 

As I stated in the beginning of this primer, Michigan ought 
to build a thousand silos the coming summer. That silos 
may spread till they become as numerous as are the farms 
and farmers of the country '' is a consummation devoutly to 
be wished;" that this little primer may speed the work is the 
wish of its author. 



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Agricuiltviral College, Pvlicli. 



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